Apple hands Gatekeeper keys to developers

Apple has begun to encourage the developer masses to begin preparing for OS X Mountain Lion by working with new Developer IDs and Gatekeeper in advance of its ultimate final product. This program will allow users to gain greater trust in Apple-distributed software through the Mac App Store as each piece of software downloaded in the future will contain a Developer ID certificate. This Developer ID certificate lets Gatekeeper verify (like magic!) the app to make sure it’s not any sort of known Malware so that the user can download without worry.

This program was introduced in a basic way back when OS X Mountain Lion was introduced some week ago. The Gatekeeper element here will above all else give confidence to the masses hoping to turn off the idea that there is such a thing as a virus in the Apple world. Apple hopes to use this program to not only assure users that Apple-distributed software is safe to use, but to actually make sure the software is, in fact, really safe for the public to use.

The Developer ID program here will connect software to its maker, this allowing the user of the software to keep that all-important bond between user and developer as strong as it’s going to get in our modern mobile world. Gatekeeper verifies each app, and the Mac App Store retains the confidence users are supposed to have in it. As Apple notes:

“The Mac App Store is the safest place for users to get software for their Mac, but we also want to protect users when they get applications from other places. Gatekeeper is a new feature in OS X Mountain Lion that helps protect users from downloading and installing malicious software. Signing your applications, plug-ins, and installer packages with a Developer ID certificate lets Gatekeeper verify that they are not known malware and have not been tampered with.” – Apple

The call to action today came in the form of an email (as you see in the lead image here in this post) and Gatekeeper will be live in the next full version of Apple’s OS X: Mountain Lion. Have a peek at the timeline below to see all the Mountain Lion action you can handle!